Swiss tycoon Jean Claude Gandur has an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion as of March 2013 according to Forbes. He is also the eight richest person in Switzerland and is ranked 704th in the list of World Billionaires.

Mr. Jean Claude Gandur got his start in oil trading in the 1970's. Since then, he has earned his estimated net worth of $2.1 billion. When he took over the control of Addax & Oryx Group Limited, he has turned his contracts in Africa into oil fields in Nigeria along with a vast network of fuel storage and distribution assets across the Sub-Saharan Africa. The biggest deal he has ever made was when he sold Addax Petroleum in 2009 to Sinopec for $3.7 billion.

After a year, Jean Claude founded Onyx Petroleum, an independent oil and gas production company that operates in Africa and the Middle East. Such move made his return to the oil game. He was among the very first movers into the Kurdistan region in Iraq. The new company he founded has new positions in Kurdistan and Africa. It also plans for an IPO this 2013.

Born to European parents, Jean Claude Gandur was raised in Egypt. Upon his retirement, he became one of the world’s best private collectors of the Egyptian antiquities. He is also one of the few world-class collectors of post-War European art and ancient European artifacts.